An article in Newsweek some time ago worried about care for the elderly. The headline read "The case for killing Granny," and the subhead was "Curbing excessive end-of-life care is good for America." While this sentiment may seem heartless to some, there is a bit of truth buried (no pun intended) in it. The fact is that assisted living facilities, or ALFs, have become assisted waiting to go places, or AWTGPs.

In case you’re thinking, as you read this, the subject, while interesting, does not really concern you, think again. If you live in New Jersey, consider the following statistics.

New Jersey has about 9 million residents, and residents older than 65 make up
13 percent of that population — just a bit higher than the 12.6 percent average for the nation. It is estimated that there are 1.14 million seniors living in New Jersey.

ALFs have become places to wait until the end. Instead of places where elderly people can find solace and entertainment, they have become AWTGPs.

There are simply dull routines. Here in these AWTGPs, day after day the same routine is followed. One is awakened, dressed, perhaps showered, then handed a walker or cane or placed in a wheelchair, and sent to breakfast. After breakfast, one can watch TV, play bingo or simply sit and wait for lunch.

Afternoons are always the same: more bingo, card games, fill-in-the-blank games, making new words out of big word games, or Trivial Pursuit. Then dinner, followed by being in bed at about 8 p.m. So it goes, day after day, with very little change. Incidentally, the food is usually institutional food, lots of chicken, rice and sloppy joes.

How do I know this? I happen to live in an ALF and see this happening every day. In a recent book, "Treat Me, Not My Age," Mark Lachs, director of geriatrics at New York-Presbyterian Health Care System, writes:

"When I was a young buck in geriatrics the mission and clientele of ALFs were pretty straightforward. They took on people who weren’t quite sick enough for a nursing home but not quite well enough to live alone safely. But a funny thing happened as America got older and nursing home care became more and more stigmatized: No one wanted to leave assisted living, even after they became too sick or frail to stay there.

"Many ALFs could not fill their beds and began losing money or went bust. Those that did stay in business had every incentive to keep their beds full rather than have their tenants leave for nursing homes, so they sometimes kept patients whose frailty exceeded their ability to provide care; these folks probably would have been better served by traditional nursing homes. Families, for their part, were delighted, because they were not responsible ‘for moving Mom or Dad to the nursing home.’âÂÂ"

Over the past 20 years or so, most ALF residents were able to get around on their own and needed little medication, which they could handle on their own or with help from family members. All that has changed. One study shows that now more than half of residents in ALFs in four states use devices to support mobility, and the average resident is limited in at least two of the areas of getting along in daily living: getting in or out of bed, eating, bathing and general mobility. Mild dementia, with its consequences, is always present for some; short-term memory is an older person’s constant companion.

What’s the solution to this problem? One hopes that the Affordable Care Act will help. One obvious solution is to encourage people who really care to become involved with running these places. Too often now there are bureaucrats in charge, people who are out to make a profit. Those in charge of activities and general operations have no real training in the field. There is a crying need for caring activities directors, those who understand the real needs of older people. Bingo and sing-alongs are not the answer.

In short, Granny does not need killing; Granny need special care and understanding.

Michael Timko, a North Jersey resident, is a professor emeritus in English at City University of New York.